252 FAMOUS SNUFF-TAKERS. 



Drury Lane Theatre, brought a mixture into fashion by using 

 or alluding to it in one of his most famous parts. The tobac- 

 conist whom he thus favored was his under-treasurer, Hard- 

 ham, whom no writer about snuff should omit to notice. He 

 was a great favorite with Garrick, whom in his turn he almost 

 revered. One of Hardham's most important duties was to 

 number the house from a hole in the curtain above the stage ; 

 and it is amusing to fancy the little tobacconist, snuff-box in 

 hand, calmly watching the pit fill, or from his elevated posi- 

 tion admiring the histrionic talents of his gifted patron. His 

 shop in Fleet street is also memorable. It was the general 

 resort of theatrical men and tyros, who sought to reach the 

 manager through his subordinates, and his little back parlor 

 "witnessed the debut of many who afterwards gained applause 

 from larger, though not more exacting audiences. 



"Her Majesty Queen Charlotte has bequeathed her name 

 to a once favorite mixture, and George the Fourth has some 

 slight chance of being remembered by the famous ' Prince's 

 Mixture,' which was so popular when it was the fashion to 

 admire and imitate that gifted individual. It would be a 

 grateful but almost an impossible task to enumerate the 

 kings, soldiers, lawyers, poets and actors who had sought 

 from and found in the snuff-box comfort and inspiration. 

 Prominent among the rulers of the earth who have acknowl- 

 edged the pleasing influence of snuff is Frederick the Great. 

 His snuff-box was the pocket of the long waistcoats of that 

 period, in which he kept large quantities loose a dirty habit, 

 which Napoleon, who was a great plagiarist, adopted. It 

 would be easy to draw out a famous list of literary names 

 attached to snuff, beginning with Dryden, who was particular 

 enough to manufacture his own mixture, and selfish enough 

 to preserve the secret of its excellence, with a view, prob- 

 ably, of enhancing the value of the pinch from his box, for 

 which the beaux and wits at Will's intrigued. 



" In the pulpit, at the bar, and on the stage, snuff has been 

 equally valuable in adding to the persuasive eloquence and 

 talent of its patrons. By the female portion of human-kind 

 it was at one time pretty generally taken, nor was it uncom- 

 mon for young and even pretty women to offer and accept a 

 pinch in public. After the gentle sex had to a great extent 

 given up the habit, some strong minded females were to bo 

 found who retained it. Mrs. Siddons, when she came off the 

 stage after dying hard, as Desdemona, or harrowing the hearts 

 of her audience by her representation of Jane Shore, could 



